DE LA IS THE SOUL !!!!!!

 

De La Soul's back catalog has not been released on audio streaming services or digital media stores. Until 2017, it was owned by Warner Records, which, according to Posdnuos, had been reluctant to clear samples and renegotiate contracts. The samples used in De La Soul's music were only cleared for physical media distribution; the wording of their contracts is not vague enough to enable them to distribute the music digitally on unforeseen technologies.

In 2017, the catalog was purchased by Tommy Boy Records. In February 2019, De La Soul announced that their catalog would soon be available on digital services. However, as they were unhappy receiving 10% of the revenue, with the rest for Tommy Boy, the release was postponed pending further negotiations. Hip hop artists including Nas, Pete Rock, and Questlove called for a boycott of Tommy Boy. In August, De La Soul announced they had been unable to settle the dispute with Tommy Boy and ended negotiations. In February 2020, Posdnuos said that Tommy Boy "sort of came back to the table, we are looking to sort of get it going". In April, Rostrum Records head Benjy Grinberg said he was attempting to buy Tommy Boy to return the master recordings to De La Soul.

In 2021, music company Reservoir Media acquired Tommy Boy for USD$100 million. Reservoir said they are working with De La Soul to bring its catalog to digital media storefronts.

On August 8, 2021, Talib Kweli revealed that the group gained ownership over their music